Last train ride to Hogwarts
by pumpkinjuicy
Summary: Sometimes dreams can come true...Harry's last train ride to Hogwarts show him a glimpse of what awaits him in the future. HPGW
1. The dream

disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon.

The Hogwarts Express made its way down the tracks in lovely scenery of endless grass hills and towering green trees towards the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry Potter closed his eyes as the warm summer breeze gently touched his face. It was a bittersweet time, the seventh and final year of school for Harry, for it was the place he had called home for the last 6 years of his childhood.  
Surely now he was no child. Harry had grown into a fine and respectable young adult, facing ordeals that not even adult wizards can handle. But after the great battle and his long awaited defeat of the powerful evil wizard, Voldemort, Harry was looking forward to spending his last year of school feeling a bit more _normal_, like his fellow classmates.

He opened his eyes and looked around in the compartment and smiled at the all too familiar faces around him. Ron Weasley flipped through the pages of a photo album from the family trip to Egypt over the summer (they were there for just the last week of vacation, Harry and Hermione Granger did spend their summer at the Burrow like always. After the Weasleys left for Egypt, the duo stayed at The Leaky Cauldron). Hermione, Neville Longbottom & Luna Lovegood "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed over the photos of pyramids and mummies and the other fascinations Egypt had to offer.  
(Luna seemed to gasp and "ohh" the loudest at photos of Bill. This made Hermione and Ginny giggle).   
Ginny Weasley looked on sounding almost like a tour guide, giving brief fact-based descriptions of each of the moving images in front of them (including "aah yes, yes…this was when Fred stuffed a canary cream in Percy's mouth" pointing to a picture of Fred and George with their arms around the head of a giant yellow canary waving happily as the yellow canary a.k.a Percy struggled to get out of their firm grip) A howl of laughter by Hermione, Neville and Luna and "oh yea that's right!" by Ron followed.

Harry closed his eyes again smiling and suddenly felt extremely warm and sleepy. He peacefully listened to the happy voices sounding distant, as he fell into a dreamy sort of state, imagining in his head what the future held for the "boy who lived" now that the prophecy had been served and the magical times at Hogwarts was coming to a close...

He saw himself in a cozy home similar to the Burrow but smaller, where he had returned from work as an auror, and a small version of himself running over to him with a bottle in one hand and a tiny yellow toy broom in the other.

"Daddy! Daddy!" the small Harry would joyfully cry and Harry would pick him up over his shoulders then give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  
"Hi ya James!"(he had known for some time now that he would like to name his son after his father) Were you a good boy today? Didn't cause your mom too much trouble?" Harry would ask peering at his son suspiciously.  
The little boy with jet black hair and chocolate-y brown eyes with cute little freckles on his nose grinned and shook his head.  
"Nope! I even 'elped her with chores!" little James said proudly.  
"Harry, dear, is that you?" a familiar girls' voice came out from the kitchen.  
"Yea love, I'm home! Dinner smells great!" Harry replied as he put James down. 

And out from the kitchen, holding a cauldron of steaming beef stew with a pair of green oven mittens over her hands, came out Ginny (she appeared older, probably mid 20's or so, as did he when he caught a reflection of himself earlier in a mirror by the front door) wearing her shoulder length red hair in a rather messy ponytail, a fitted black tee, a pair of denim shorts that showed off her slender legs and a green apron on top. She set the pot down in the center of the dining table, removed the mitts off her hands and walked over to him smiling lazily into his eyes.  
When she reached him, she stretched her arms up, let it fall around his neck and breathed in deeply with her eyes closed. "Mmmm" she exhaled as she opened her eyes and looked into his. "I missed you."  
Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and gently placed his hands inside the back pockets of her shorts. "I missed you more" Harry whispered and leaned forward to kiss her red tender lips which smelled like the watermelon gloss she had used since the days of Hogwarts...

"Oy Harry! You sleeping, mate? Come on now, wake up! The food lady is here!" Ron called out to his best friend as he and Hermione each bought some chocolate frogs while Neville and Luna purchased a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans to share. Ginny looked on trying to decide between a cauldron cake and a pumpkin pastie. Ron turned to face the sleeping beauty and couldn't help but notice the silly grin plastered on his face.

"HARRY!" Ron cried out this time louder than the first. "FOOD!" Harry jerked his head up and awoke with a start almost falling off his seat. Ron and Neville laughed at the sight followed by an amused Hermione's "Are you alright, Harry?"  
He froze where he sat staring blankly in front of him. His eyes grew bigger and bigger as the last images of his dream came back to him hauntingly and noticed his palms were very sweaty. He tried to speak but nothing came out of his slightly open dry mouth.  
"Harry?"  
It was Ginny.

She was leaning over sideways, coming into his view. Her neck was crooked, and this caused her long silky hair to fall gracefully to one side. "Err…are you ok?" she asked looking concerned. "The food lady is here…um are you hungry?" she asked raising her eyebrows slightly.  
Harry looked up and couldn't help but get lost in her pretty brown eyes as if he was seeing them for the first time. Then slowly lowering his eyes to her lips he saw that they looked just as they had in the dream, a stain of red with a hint of shimmer from her watermelon gloss. Soon enough, his adolescent mind wandered to the way she had looked in those tiny denim shorts, with his own hands stuffed in the back pockets, over her curvy behind and lowering his mouth to hers….  
He shook his head violently to shake off the images in his head.  
There were too many witnesses (including a Weasley brother) in that compartment at the moment for him to have such an intimate fantasy. He met Ginny's eyes again, this time with less longing and smiled as innocently as he could after imagining feeling her behind. "Ahh…thirsty" he managed to croak.  
Ginny looked at him strangely and nodded slowly "Alright, one icy cold pumpkin juice comin up".  
She turned back to the food lady to get a glass of pumpkin juice and couldn't help but feel her heart beating a bit faster than normal.

_What was that about?_ Ginny asked herself, feeling a strange sensation in her stomach that was quite new to her. _Harry had never looked at me like that before, no boy had for that matter._  
Maybe it had to do with having six older, very protective brothers, but whenever she was around boys she couldn't help but feel like the cute little sister-type, even with boys her age. She has never been looked at or spoken to or (she paused for a second for even thinking it silently to herself was quite embarrassing), touched in a way that made her feel like a…well like a girl. Even boys she had gone with in the past tended to show their affection by patting her on the head or pinching her nose, which she hated.

But for that brief moment, Harry looked into her eyes almost _hungrily._

She felt her ears get hot and her mouth go dry. She sub-consciously raised the glass to take a gulp of the icy cold juice and remembered quickly who it was for. She swallowed some saliva instead, took a deep breath and spun around with what she hoped was a straight face and said cheerily "Here ya go!"  
For a second, she couldn't recall if she had paid or not for she was so deep in her wild thoughts, then heard the compartment door slide shut and the wheels of the food cart fade so she assumed she must have. She handed him the glass rather hurriedly practically shoving it into his grip and a few splashes hit the floor.  
"Oh sorry" Ginny groaned and with a flick of her wand ("scourgify!") the juice on the floor was gone.  
Before he could say thanks, she turned back to her brother and the others to finish the rest of the photos.

_Stupid, stupid!_ She screamed in her head as she pretended to be fascinated by a picture of Ron and herself wading in a river happily splashing the clear water with their bare feet. How could she be so lame?  
And to think, just seconds before she was complaining about how boys didn't treat her in a more flirty way.  
Why couldn't she hand him the glass nicely then sit down next to him? Maybe smooth out his hair a bit in a playful manner and ask in a very concerned, caring way if he was really all right. Now that's what a _real_ girl would have done. Was it too late for her to go over to him now?  
She pondered a bit biting her lips, still keeping her eyes on the same spot where the photo of her and Ron had been a minute ago. (Ron had already turned the page and was wondering why Ginny stopped her commentating).  
After what felt like eternity she raised her head, cleared her throat and stood up to join Harry.


	2. The revelation?

Chapter 2

_Stupid, stupid!_ Harry shouted in his head as he watched Ginny return to her seat next to Ron and noticed she seemed eager to get back to their photos.  
_She practically threw that glass of pumpkin juice in your face, you git! _Harry scolded himself, thinking he might as well have deserved it, the way he allowed his eyes to linger on her lips and body like that for so long. She must have been pretty bothered by his odd behavior, how she quickly turned away like that. He knew _he_ was quite disturbed with his out of ordinary self.  
Or worse, what if she had an idea what was going on in his head, and was just simply appalled?  
Just then, Harry stopped and wondered. _Wait, what exactly is going on in my head? Am I starting to have feelings for Ginny? _He took a moment to look over at her who still had her head down staring intently at a photo in the album. Her legs were crossed and both hands were curled at the edge of the seat, causing her shoulders to shrug a bit. She was now laughing sweetly to something Neville had said, though Harry couldn't quite catch what is was, and a strand of her long silky hair fell to the side of her face. He watched as she slowly raised her right hand and tucked the misbehaving piece behind her ear. Harry couldn't help but wonder why such a simple gesture made his stomach tie in knots. 

_Sigh. This is Ron's little sister you're talking about, _Harry reminded himself, as if this was to settle the matter somehow.  
Correction: she was Bill, Charlie, Percy (well Percy, Harry thought, he can take), Fred, George _and _Ron's little sister. Harry suddenly had a frightening picture of all six brothers towering over him cracking their knuckles as Bill muttered something about "taking advantage" of his innocent baby sister…His shoulders shuddered at the thought and sighed again, this time louder.  
He was confused.  
Was the Ginny sitting across from him now merely an illusion from his fantasy earlier? Or was it possible that the dream had been a rude awakening to reveal to him the wonderful girl who has been right under his nose this whole time? (And that wasn't just figuratively speaking. Harry was roughly 5'10" now, Ginny about 5'5")  
_Great!_ Harry's grumpy voice pounded inside his head. _I may have fallen in love and I wasn't even conscious when it happened!_

After contemplating for what seemed like hours, Harry decided to go over to Ginny and talk to her before it got any more awkward between them. He had carefully planned in his head how he would come about approaching her.  
He was going to sit down next to her, politely thank her for the pumpkin juice, apologize for his unusual behavior (he would say that he had a bad dream, though Harry would know it was quite the contrary) and ask her to share with him all about her trip to Egypt. He would listen with keen interest as she told her stories (he was pretty sure he read somewhere in Witch Weekly once that girls were fond of guys that listened), though he had heard most of it before when she was telling Hermione, Neville and Luna.  
He would say to her how it wasn't bad staying at the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione, but he would rather have remained at the Burrow and practiced Quidditch some more with her and Ron. Then he would praise her on how much she had improved her game over the last year.  
He smiled. For a reason he couldn't quite grasp, he had a strong urge to shower her with compliments. He took a deep breath and slowly stood up.  
As he did this, he saw too late that Ginny had gotten up at the same exact time. His brilliant plan (well, at least Harry felt it was pretty brilliant) to make things _less_ awkward between them had backfired for now Harry and Ginny were standing in the middle of their confined compartment face to face, inches away from one another, looking dead into each others' eyes.

"Hi." It was Ginny who found her voice first. She continued to look up and gaze into his piercing emerald eyes. She could almost feel the warmth of his body tingling her skin and wondered what it would be like to be held in his arms.  
Harry cleared his throat and managed to let out in a fairly monotone voice "Hey Ginny...er…I was just about to come sit with you." He impressed himself for stuttering only once. He tried to smile casually, but instead a silly boyish grin helplessly spread across his face.  
It was nerve-wracking standing so close to her, with the fresh scent of her shampoo (it smelled like freesia) filling the air under his nose and he was sure everyone in that compartment could hear his heart beating like mad.  
"Oh…well all right then" Ginny replied, then added quickly with a smile "what a coincidence, I was about to join you too." As she spun around to sit back down in her seat, she was startled to see two pairs of eyes staring at them.  
They belonged to Ron and Hermione.

Apparently they had finished with the photo album and were comparing their Famous Wizard Cards, when Ginny and Harry's abrupt movement caught their attention.  
Neville and Luna were engaged in a game of Exploding Snap and hadn't noticed. Hermione looked practically giddy, beaming at the two with her hands clasped together in front of her chest.  
(Ginny had confided to her over the summer at the Burrow that her feelings toward Harry was still strong, and that dating other boys over the years had made her realize just how much she wasn't over him. Hermione returned the favor by letting Ginny in on her secret crush on Ron, to which Ginny rolled her eyes and cried "Oh Hermione! I've known _that_ for ages!")  
Ginny glared at Hermione, her wide eyes silently screaming at her to stop being so obvious. Hermione, who saw this stopped bouncing in her seat and gave her an apologetic look.  
Harry, however, hadn't noticed (Both girls let out a sigh of relief at this) for he was staring back at Ron who seemed rather puzzled.   
"What were you two doing just now, having a staring contest or something?" he asked quite seriously.  
"Er…" Harry's mind went blank at this and Hermione, as if on cue, came to his rescue. "Oh Ron, you silly pooh! (Ron did a double take at this and silently mouthed the words "A silly _what?_" to Harry. Harry, slightly astonished himself, just shook his head and shrugged.)  
"Stop talking rubbish! Now come on!" She jumped up from her seat. "As Head Boy and Girl this year, we need to go patrol the corridors. Maybe Malfoy and his idiot friends will be up to something and we can give them detentions!" she said excitedly, as an attempt to give Ron a reason to look forward to being Head Boy for a whole year.  
He had complained earlier in the summer about the extra responsibilities and the fact that he and Harry wouldn't be able to go about "rebelling against the school" for their final year (and as in "school" he meant Professor Snape, of course.)  
He evidently hadn't thought of the advantages he would have against Malfoy and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle.  
"All right! Let's get going then!" Ron happily agreed, forgetting to get a response to the mystery behind Harry and Ginny's staring contest. The two headed out of the compartment leaving Harry and Ginny with Neville and Luna, who briefly raised their heads from their game and muttered bye. Harry plopped down in the seat that was previously occupied by Ron but Ginny continued to stand and watch the back of her friend's bushy brown-haired head.  
Before she slid the door shut, Hermione turned back, winked at Ginny and then she was gone.


	3. Fireworks

With Ron and Hermione out of the compartment, Harry leaned back in his seat and took in the newfound peace and quiet with great contentment. He glanced over at Ginny who had settled herself next to him (a bit further than to his liking) and without even realizing it straightened back up to get a better look at her face. She was looking down fiddling with her fingers when, as if she knew she was being watched, raised her head swiftly and turned to face him. He raised his eyebrows a bit and smiled awkwardly. She smiled back sweetly and her warm chocolate-y brown eyes twinkled before him. Then he heard it…fireworks. 

Last summer, on a particularly hot and sticky evening, Harry was in the kitchen at the Dursley's home on Privet Drive long after dinner had been served. He was down on all fours with a washcloth in his right hand and a bucket full of soap water beside him. He had been cleaning up the mess Dudley had made all over the kitchen tile floor. Apparently, Dudley was not satisfied with the birthday gift that his father had brought home for him that night and had thrown a tantrum over dinner. ("I asked for the Nissan Skyline GT-R33 in _silver_ with _custom black leather seats!_ Not _blue_ with the _factory race car cloth seats!"_)   
There was brown gravy sauce splattered on the stove and the dinner table, (which Harry had finished scrubbing an hour ago) two of the four chairs, (he hadn't gotten to them just yet) all over the floor, (he was almost done) and even stained some of the cabinets above the stove (he would need a step ladder for those). Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, exhausted after pleading with their furious son to forgive them for their careless mistake, sat in front of the TV in the living room looking extremely beat. Dudley, to their relief, went off to a friend's house to blow off some steam.  
They were watching some sort of Muggle romance movie to which Harry had no interest in listening into. Standing up slowly, his knees wobbly from being on the floor for so long, he dragged himself over to the sink to rinse the washcloth and empty the bucket. As he leaned against the wall to take a quick break, he couldn't help but catch some of the words coming from the TV in the next room.

_"Baby,"_ (it was a man's voice) "when you look at me like that with those eyes, I hear fireworks". Then he heard a thunderous roar of what must have been the so-called fireworks this man was talking about and a woman gasp_ "Oh Johnny!"_ Harry shot a sneak peek over at the TV and saw the man and woman embraced in their arms sharing a passionate kiss.  
_"Fireworks…"_ Harry muttered sheepishly, rolling his eyes as he went to retrieve the washcloth from the sink. _"What a load of rubbish."_

Now, more than a year had passed and those same words he had heard on the TV that dreadful summer night were coming back to him so vividly…  
"When you look at me like that with those eyes," Johnny's deep voice echoed in Harry's ear _"I hear fireworks"… Merlin's beard!_ Harry enlightened himself. _This is what Johnny was talking about! The tender eye contact and the roaring fireworks…and the hysterical laughter of Ginny and Luna…  
_Harry's train of thought came to an abrupt halt. _Wait. No, that can't be right._ Bewildered, he took off his glasses and set it down in front of him. He rubbed his eyes hastily with his hands and with his head lowered put his glasses back on. He slowly looked up and blinked. Then to his disbelief, the truth of the matter slowly began to unfold in front of him.

The _fireworks_ were none other than Neville's cards exploding in his face causing his hair to stand on its ends, which explained why the two girls were laughing so hard. Even Harry, though quite dumbfounded, couldn't help himself to let out a tiny chuckle. He slowly sank back in his seat, watching Ginny's delighted expression at the sight of Luna unsuccessfully attempting to flatten Neville's hair. He tried with difficulty to ignore the feeling of disappointment weighing down his insides and force a smile on his face but found it oddly painful to do so.  
_Why am I so disappointed? It was a bloody movie, a load of rubbish for all I know. It wasn't real._ Not real…Harry's mind wandered back to the dream he had earlier. Dreams weren't real either…_were they?_ Harry suddenly felt very impatient and annoyed with himself.  
What was unmistakably real was that Ginny was a girl whose company he appreciated and enjoyed a whole lot. She was smart, funny and never afraid to speak her mind. And she knew a hell of a lot about Quidditch, which he thought was pretty special. 

_I'm such a bloke,_ Harry grumbled to himself. She had been sitting next to him for nearly ten minutes now and he hadn't even spoken a single word to her. Instead he was wasting away the precious moments hearing imaginary fireworks and the voice of some Muggle actor from an old, cheesy romance movie. He sat up in his seat for the second time, turned his entire body towards Ginny and cleared his throat. Ginny, noticing this ultimately stopped giggling at Luna and Neville and eyed him curiously.

"What's up, Harry?" she asked innocently tilting her head the same way she had done before when she stood before him after he had woken from his dream. Her long hair fluttered playfully in the breeze from the open window and her ivory skin face was glowing in the ray of sunshine. She looked very pretty. Harry cleared his throat again and spoke at last.   
"Er, you mind showing me the photos from your trip?" Ginny's face lit up at his request. "I'd love to!" she exclaimed happily and went to regain the album. Then she plopped back down (this time a bit closer to his liking) spread open the cover of the leather bound book in their laps and spoke in a tone very similar to the one she was using before.  
"Ahh yes, yes…" she began, "this was when Fred and George transfigured Percy's swimming trunks to a bright yellow polka dotted speedo…" Harry laughed out loud for the first time that day. It was an excellent feeling.

By the time Ron and Hermione returned from their Head Boy and Girl duty, Harry and Ginny had gone over the entire album. (Though the images of Egypt had been quite beautiful and Ginny's narrating hysterical, Harry decided his favorite part was when Ginny timidly suggested he come along to Egypt next time). They were now deeply engaged in a discussion about (what else?) Quidditch and Neville and Luna were quietly sitting across from them reading a copy of the Quibbler together. Hermione stepped into the compartment first looking very angry.  
Her cheeks and ears were flushed and she was muttering something to herself that sounded a lot like "Honestly!"  
Ron walked in seconds later rubbing his left arm whispering something that sounded a lot like "It was a bloody joke!" He took a seat next to Neville sighing out loud still mumbling to himself while Hermione sat across from him beside Ginny and crossed her arms over her chest.  
Ginny glanced at Harry questioningly mouthing the words "What happened?" and he simply shrugged. He looked over at Neville and Luna and saw they were both peering over the magazine looking anxiously at Hermione.  
"So…how was the patrol?" Ginny asked brightly to no one in particular.  
Ron, ignoring his sister, jumped up and squeezed himself between her and Hermione. The two girls clicked their tongue angrily at this but Ron didn't seem to care. Neither did Harry. (to his luck Ginny was practically sitting on top of him) Neither did Ginny for that matter, though she pretended to be annoyed. (to her luck her left hand was grasping Harry's right thigh for balance.) They were sitting so close with their sides pressed together and it would have been rather cozy if it were not for their shoulders digging into each other.  
Harry leaned back in his seat and raised his right arm over their heads to relieve them of the discomfort. He looked down at her, his chin nearly brushing her nose and spoke in what was his best impression of a comforting voice. "Better?"  
He felt his insides squirm as the inviting scent of her shampoo came over him once again.  
Ginny's stomach, on the other hand, was doing flip-flops as Harry's warm breath tickled the side of her forehead. She looked up and nodded but didn't meet his eye.  
He lowered his arm slowly and rested it on top of the seat behind Ginny's head. A moment later, he was positive he hadn't imagined it when he felt Ginny's body lean back slightly and relax into his. Whatever happened during their patrol that got Ron in trouble and Hermione fuming mad, Harry secretly hoped it would take the rest of the train ride to fix. 

A/N: _There is a short, bonus chapter after this for all you readers who are curious as to what exactly happened during Ron and Hermione's patrol. Enjoy!  
(Note: the bonus chapter is not chapter 4)_


	4. Bonus Chapter

Bonus Chapter 

"Please 'mione, can we go back now? I'm _tired_ and this is _boring."_ Ron moaned to his companion as he dragged his body along the corridor walls. Hermione strode in front of him stopping every so often to peer through each compartment window to make sure there was no misbehaving going on among the students inside. She ignored Ron and continued her patrol. "Hermione!" Ron called out to her again, this time louder as she tiptoed to examine the compartment to her left.  
"Ron, stop your blubbering!" she snapped back hotly glaring at him. "We've only been out here for thirty minutes and-" Hermione had just turned her head back to the compartment window when she gasped. Shocked and speechless she slowly inched her way back to the ground beneath her and slumped back into the wall behind her. Ron hurried over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
"Hermione, are you ok? What happened? What did you see?" Ron asked looking alarmed and concerned, his earlier boredom instantly vanishing. When Hermione didn't answer he took a step to look into the window and Hermione grabbed his arm by the elbow. Startled, he turned his attention back to Hermione whose bulging eyes reminded him of Dobby, the house elf.   
"No, don't look! You were right…er…this is tiring and boring! Let's just go!" She straightened up and turned to head back toward the back of the train where they had come from. She yanked on the sleeves of Ron's robe but he didn't budge. Ron was over 6 feet tall now and though he was still considered skinny, Hermione, at 5'6" and quite thin herself, was no match. Ron, after giving Hermione one last questioning look, turned around and peeked inside not knowing what to expect. He gasped just like Hermione had.

Draco Malfoy was seated inside but he wasn't alone. His fellow Slytherin Pansy Parkinson was there with him, or rather on top of him to be more accurate. They were snogging senseless while struggling to remove their clothing off of one another. It seemed Malfoy was more experienced with this than Pansy. Pansy had only managed to undo his belt buckle while Malfoy had removed her button down shirt with ease _and_ managed to undo the closure of her white lacy bra with just one hand. Ron held his breath as he watched Malfoy lift the bra straps off of Pansy's pale shoulders and lower it down her arms. It was almost off-  
"RON!" Hermione hissed and jerked his arm violently. "We're going. NOW!" Hermione stomped furiously down the corridor back towards their own snog-free compartment and Ron, though itching to get a peek at Pansy's bare chest, thought better of it and followed closely behind Hermione.

"Oh wait 'til I tell Harry about this!" Ron exclaimed. "You sure you wanna go back now 'mione? We haven't patrolled all of the train, you know? Besides, I'm having a blast! Come on! I say we head back…you with me?" he was almost skipping with delight. Hermione stopped and stood very still. Her hands were clenched in a ball of fist and her shoulders were shaking with fury. She spoke without turning around.  
"If you want to go back and ogle at Pansy's breasts some more, be my guest. But I'm going back." And at that she continued to head back leaving behind Ron who was utterly stunned. In all their seven years of friendship, she had never spoken so coldly to him.

"Oy 'mione! Wait up!_ Hermione!"_ Ron's long legs didn't take many steps to catch up to her. But when he was in arms reach of her shoulders she broke off into a run yelling behind her "Just leave me alone!"_  
"Oh bloody hell!"_ Ron muttered under his breath and sped up to catch her. He finally got hold of both her shoulders and without intending to, backed her into the wall roughly. "Oh" said Ron and quickly released her from his grip. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to do that so hard." Hermione, looking down sideways to avoid his eyes said nothing but shook her head as if to tell him he hadn't hurt her.  
"Listen 'mione," Ron spoke again and Hermione could tell he was choosing his words very carefully.. "Mm…I'm not exactly sure what happened back there, but if I offended you in any way…Mm…I didn't _mean_ to…I mean I was joking _really_…I don't see_ what_ the big deal was about…" His voice trailed off.  
Hermione kept her head down but her eyes had shot up meeting his. She looked downright scary.  
"The big deal, _Ron,_ is you acting like a stupid ol' prat drooling over naked girls!" she spat out. At this, Ron felt his face get hot.  
"First of all, _Hermione,_" he spoke in a mocking tone "I was not drooling. Second of all, _Hermione,_ she wasn't naked, she was merely topless. And third of all,_ Hermione, what's it to you if I look at naked girls?"_ He was practically shouting now.  
"If there's any naked girl you are to drool over,_ RON, IT SHOULD BE ME!"_ Hermione was so heated at that point that what had come out of her mouth did not sink in to her brain for a few seconds. When it finally did, her face had turned redder than Ron's flaming hair.   
Ron, who was quite certain he had heard wrong, looked up and down the corridor as if looking for someone to ask "Excuse me, but what did she just say?" When no such person appeared, he turned back to face his mortified friend.  
To Ron's great annoyance, she broke off into a run for the second time.

He grasped her arm and pulled her back just before she had the chance to get hold of the handle to their compartment door.  
_"Her_- gasp-_mi_-gasp-_o_-_ne"_ Ron panted, squeezing her right arm with one hand and clutching his sides with the other. He was leaning forward with his head facing down and used Hermione's shoulder to rest it on. He then fell back against the wall and gradually slid down to the floor still holding on tightly to Hermione's arm.

"Ron, let go of me" Hermione said calmly. She was bent forward sideways and her back was starting to ache.  
Ron shook his head.  
"Ron, let go" she pleaded.  
"No"  
"Yes"  
"No"  
"Yes"  
"You don't like me looking at other girls?" Ron asked straightforwardly. He finally let her go and Hermione straightened herself rubbing her lower back. She was taken back by this and remained silent. Then she nodded and shrugged at the same time. Suddenly she felt very vulnerable.  
"Listen Ron," her voice was squeaky and she had to pause to clear her throat. "I just felt it was inappropriate of you to…I mean as Head Boy you have responsibilities and…besides it was an invasion of privacy…and-" she let her voice trail off.  
Ron got to his feet and smoothed out his robe. He then turned to Hermione and stated very nonchalantly "Ok, I won't look at other girls anymore." He grinned.   
Hermione couldn't believe her ears. It was the sweetest, most caring, most decent thing he had ever-

"But only because you said you'll let me see you naked, and I know I've never said this before but you got some pretty _huge_-" SMACK!

A/N _Well you know the rest! Hope you guys enjoyed this bonus chap. Chapter 4 coming soon…! _


	5. Fantasies

Chapter 4

Ron and Hermione made up much quicker than Harry had covertly anticipated, but it didn't really matter. After Ron had finished apologizing to Hermione (Harry assumed that whatever he had whispered into the angry Head Girl's ear must have done the trick because in no time, she was giggling mad and saying "Oh _Ron_…" in that forgiving kind of way), he stood up and returned to the seat beside Neville on the other side.  
But Ginny remained where she was, nestled comfortably in Harry's arms. She seemed to show no intention to move back to where she had been before, which to Harry was more than suitable. Her warm, slender back rested against the side of his now slightly muscular chest and her delicate body rose and sank with his with every breath he took. Her head fitted snug like a piece to a puzzle in the crook of his neck and Harry absentmindedly bent his outstretched arm by the elbow and began curling a strand of her hair around his index finger. He felt Ginny's shoulders tense a bit when he did this, but before he could take in what he just felt, her body relaxed once again and she let out a soft "Mmmm." It sounded awfully familiar to Harry. Before he could remember where he had heard it, his thoughts were distracted by Neville's voice.

"Er…so, guys, I was thinking… Maybe, you know, we can all talk about our current…er…_situations?_" Harry noticed his ears were pink and he looked a bit nervous. It was Ron who responded first.  
"What do you mean by that Neville?" A murmur of quiet "yea"s by Ginny, Hermione and Harry followed. Harry noticed Luna staring dreamily over at Neville, as if admiring him for what he had just declared, but then she always had that sort of look on her face. Neville cleared his throat and spoke again, this time in a bit more confident tone.  
"Well, as you guys may have guessed by now…er…me and Luna…I mean…_Luna and I_ are…we're together, _right?_" Harry wondered if he was telling them this bit of news or asking them. Neville continued. "And well, Ron and Hermione were clearly having some sort of lovers' quarrel just now…"(Hermione let out a soft "Oh!" to this and bit down her lips nervously while Ron simply looked over at Neville with a look that read _"lovers' quarrel? Who says that?"_) Neville didn't seem to notice. Harry watched Hermione for a short while then turned to Ron and grinned. Although he was faintly aware of the attraction between his two best friends ever since the Yule Ball incident during fourth year, it was still all too humorous to think of the pair as _"lovers"_. Before he could congratulate the happy couple, Neville's voice interrupted him once again.  
"And…well…it seems obvious that Harry and Ginny hooked up as well…" At these words, Harry's eyes gaped at Neville and Ginny jumped in her seat with a start. She straightened up her back and hesitantly scooted over closer to Hermione, leaving Harry with a lingering feeling of the warmth of her body against his. A tinge of disappointment came across him, but he had no time to sulk. He shot a worrying look over at Ron to see his reaction to what Neville had just said, but Hermione had sprung up from her seat so fast and stood in front of him and Ginny that she blocked his view.

"Oh, Harry! Oh, _Ginny!_" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you guys!" she had grabbed Harry's right hand with her right and Ginny's left hand with her left and was swinging them back and forth.  
"Oh, _Ginny!_ You must be so happy! When did this happen anyways? It was while Ron and I was out at patrol, wasn't it? Oh I _knew_ it! Oh Harry, Ginny's been gushing about you all summer!"  
At this, Harry stole a glance over at the pretty redhead next to him but Hermione was squeezing his hand so hard that he reluctantly brought his attention back to the hysterical brunette hovering over him.  
"Oh Ginny, can I please tell him about that day at the Burrow? Oh you know, when he walked into the kitchen after de-gnoming the garden with Ron? _Remember?_" Ginny, whose head was still buzzing with echoes of _"Oh Harry, Ginny's been gushing about you all summer!"_ shook her head dazedly. Hermione chose to ignore this and turned back to Harry.  
"Oh Harry, Ginny and I were in the kitchen one afternoon having tea and you walked in with your shirt off and Ginny was just so-"   
"HERMIONE, NO!" Ginny shrieked in horror. Harry, though very curious to hear the end of that sentence, felt slightly uneasy by Ginny's angry outburst.  
"Er…'mione, I don't think Ginny wants this story told…" he said suggestively. Hermione just grinned and shook her head as if he was being downright silly.  
"Oh _Harry,_ she's just _shy!_ Anyways, what was I saying? Oh! Right, so you were covered in dirt and sweat and Ginny was just-" This time it was Ron who interrupted.  
"Gin, you are too young to have those kind of feelings!" he said in a very older-brother type of way.  
_"Shut up Ron!"_ both Ginny and Hermione snapped annoyingly.  
Ron scowled and crossed his arms over his chest whispering "Honestly!" mocking Hermione, though only Neville heard.  
"Anyways, Harry-" Hermione was sounding very excited and impatient now and was tugging his right hand violently.   
"And Hermione you especially!" yelled Ginny as she got to her feet. _"PLEASE shut up!"_ She was glaring down at her with her fists clenched in a ball at her side. Hermione, clearly shocked, let go of Harry's hand and slowly straightened up to meet Ginny at eye level.  
"Ginny, what's the matt-" she began but seeing the look on her friend's face thought better of it and closed her mouth. Ginny's cheeks were flushed from embarrassment and irritation.  
"Harry and I…Harry and I are _not_ together _Neville!_" she spat out though she was still glowering at Hermione. Neville simply shrugged to this and said "Oh, I just thought…" but Hermione clasped both her hands to her mouth and gasped.  
"Yes, that's right _Hermione, NOT_ together. _N-O-T._ We haven't even…I mean we haven't exactly…" she lowered her voice realizing she was yelling rather harshly. "Look guys, it's not like that, alright? _Not yet…_" she let her head drop and barely whispered that last bit so nobody else will hear.

"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry…_Oh no_…Oh! Oh _Harry,_ I was just joking…before-I mean…no-oh yes!" Harry could hear the desperation in Hermione's shrill voice. "It was me! It was me who got excited seeing you that day with your shirt off…" Hermione was frantically poking herself with her index fingers mouthing "Me! Me!"  
"Hey!" now Ron was out of his seat and standing over Hermione. "How come you get to see other guys naked?" he spattered. "That's not fair! You practically bit my head off before for looking at Pansy! Not that I got to see anything mind you…" he said as if this was an offensive thing.  
"Ron, not now!" Hermione hissed over her shoulder.  
"No, 'mione. It's not fair and you know it! If I only get to see you naked, then you only get to see me naked!" Hermione threw her hands up and grabbed a bunch of her frizzy hair at the sides.  
"Urgh! Fine Ron! Fine! _I will see you naked later, alright!_ Just not now! Honestly!" she rolled her eyes and spun back around to face Ginny but Ginny was no longer standing. She had joined Harry back on the compartment seat and the two of them were staring up at her with their necks crooked to the side and their eyebrows raised high.  
Ginny's arms were crossed over her chest.  
"Look Ginny. I'm so sorry I- wh-what?" Hermione stopped herself. Ginny no longer looked angry, but rather highly amused over something. She glimpsed at Harry. He had the exact same expression. "What? _What is it?_" Hermione demanded. It was Harry who spoke first.  
"You know 'mione…"  
Then Ginny followed.  
"You never told us how your patrol went…"  
Now it was Neville's turn to join the fun. "Yes, the lovers' quarrel!"  
Finally Luna.  
"It seemed to involve a lot of _nakedness_."  
Hermione whirled back at Neville and Luna, then back at Harry and Ginny. "I- I don't know what you mean…" she stammered though she knew it was no good. She turned to Ron helplessly but he just sat there watching her with that boyish grin she often adored, though at this precise moment she felt like kicking him in the shin for it. He was obviously enjoying this and evidently _not_ going to come to her rescue. Now she really felt like kicking him. _Hard._  
Then he did something so unlikely that it stunned her along with everyone else in that compartment. He grabbed her left hand with his right, spun her around and pulled her into his lap. She fell into his embrace with a thud. "Come on you guys" he said rather lazily…"Stop picking on my girlfriend."

So with those endearing words by Ronald Weasley himself, Harry, Ginny, Neville and Luna never did get to hear what the lovers' quarrel was all about, or how he and Hermione had actually hooked up. All Ron would give away was that Hermione declared her love for him in a way that no man – muggle or wizard - had ever had the pleasure of experiencing before. Hermione, who was still seated contentedly in Ron's lap with his arms wrapped securely around her waist, blushed furiously at this, but didn't beg to differ. Ron did, however, get into very fine details of the _other_ incident that took place during their patrol.  
"So anyways," he began breathlessly "I peer in through the window and what do I see? Malfoy and Pansy at it like two hungry wild dogs wrestling over meat!" Ginny gasped and clasped both her hands over her mouth. Neville made a face as if someone had just force-fed him a handful of sardine flavored Bertie Bott's beans. Ron scrunched up his face to do his best impression of a ferocious dog. Everyone except Harry laughed. He was, unfortunately, eerily reminded of Aunt Marge's evil-tempered bulldog Ripper by the sight. Ron continued, his face back to normal.  
"Anyways, Pansy was on top of Malfoy humping him like there's no tomorrow and Malfoy, he was slobbering on Pansy's earlobe like it was made out of a chocolate lollipop! Yuck! Oh he did manage to remove her shirt _and_ undo her bra with one hand." Neville let out a quiet _"Wow…"_ Ron faced him and nodded.  
"Yeah that bit was pretty impressive. Oh, Pansy's bra was white…and lacey…" he looked directly at Harry when he said this as if Harry would appreciate the info. Ginny seemed to have noticed this too and peered sideways at Harry with a look of mild disapproval. Harry looked back at her innocently and while shaking his head mouthed a silent "I didn't ask!" Ginny stifled a laugh.  
Seeing this, Harry smirked and leaned over so their shoulders were touching. _"You know,"_ he muttered in her ear "_nothing_ Pansy puts on- or takes off for that matter would be able to turn me on…"  
This time Ginny laughed out loud and nodded. "Yea, that's true…not with _that_ face." Harry grinned.

"So, Mr. Harry Potter, what _does_ turn you on?" it was Hermione and she had a very devilish smile across her face. Harry sat up and stared at her in surprise. He didn't think anyone else had heard. "Er…" Harry wasn't quite sure what to say when Ron jumped in.  
"I know! A totally naked girl riding a Firebolt!" Ron exclaimed. Neville and Luna laughed at this but Hermione elbowed him in the chest and cried "Ron that's just unsanitary!" Neville took a shot.  
"How about a girl wearing nothing but your T-shirt?" This Harry took into consideration as he pictured Ginny lounging in her knickers with his oversized T-shirt on top. He felt his cheeks get hot.  
"How about a girl wearing nothing but your T-shirt, riding a Firebolt and the wind blows and lifts up the T-shirt and…" Ron screwed his face trying to complete the picture. "Ron! Are these _your_ fantasies? Because you know I can_not_ ride a broom even if my life depended on it!" Hermione retorted. Everyone, including Hermione howled with laughter at this. In the midst of all the fun, Harry glanced over at Ginny and suddenly felt bold and daring. He leaned sideways to her and whispered in her ear as he had done before.  
"So Ginny, what's _your_ fantasy?" Ginny turned to him clearly taken aback. She remained silent for a while, biting down on her lower lip as if contemplating her answer. Then- "Oh, I don't know…a shirtless guy covered in dirt and sweat after de-gnoming a garden perhaps?"


	6. The promise

Chapter 5

Harry was almost certain that Ginny had just performed a very powerful Cheering Charm on him. He could not seem to get rid of the ridiculous grin plastered on his face or the strange yet wonderful feeling that the world was a perfect place full of beautiful creatures called gnomes. Just as he made a mental note what to get the adorable gnomes for Christmas this year (he figured socks perhaps?...like Dobby?) Ginny nudged him gently with her elbow.  
"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly in his ear.  
Harry turned to her and was just about to whisper back _"What to get the gnomes for Christmas,"_ when he realized how stupid that would sound and stopped himself. "Er-nothing," he lied.  
"Oh…" said Ginny sounding slightly disappointed.  
"Ok, no, not nothing…" Harry confessed as he sank back in his seat. Ginny shifted her body around so she can face him and curiously raised her eyebrows. He glanced up at her timidly and smiled before he spoke again.  
"I was just thinking that de-gnoming is now officially my second favorite thing to do after Quidditch."

Harry was aware that he was no expert when it came to flirting with the opposite sex but even he had to admit that what he just said was pretty darn brilliant. To his luck, Ginny seemed to agree. Her entire face lit up with absolute delight then quickly softened to the prettiest smile he had yet seen. Suddenly he wanted to say more things to make her beam at him like that.  
"Ginny-" he began as he sat up, though he hadn't the faintest idea what to say next when Neville's angry outburst interrupted him.

"No wonder you were staring at his pictures the longest before! You said you were just trying to figure out what animal his earring's fang came from!" Apparently it had been Luna's turn to share her fantasy and to Neville's dismay, it had involved a man who resembled Bill Weasley an awful lot. "I can't believe it," he continued. "I mean sure he's cool and good-looking, well _all_ the Weasley brothers are…" Neville stated. Ron blushed at this and gave Neville a rather grateful look.  
Luna crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. "Yes Neville, and _you_ should know better than anyone to fancy a Weasley, being that you were in love with Ginny for over three years," she reminded him coolly. Ginny blushed at this and gave Neville a rather frightened look.  
"That-that was just a crush!" Neville cried angrily. "And I got over it _ages_ ago! Now I fancy you-_and only you!"_  
For a moment, Luna gaped at her boyfriend. Then-"Oh _Neville,_ I fancy you too," she breathed and flung her arms around his neck. Neville embraced her firmly. Ron and Harry clapped their hands and whistled. Hermione and Ginny giggled and let out a dramatic "Awww." Luna, clearly missing the sarcasm, looked moved. Neville, clearly getting the sarcasm, looked embarrassed. He loosened his grip around Luna and kissed her quickly on the cheek before turning to the others. "Okay you guys, lets talk about something _else_ now. _Please."_

The next hour or so of the train ride went by quite peaceful and uneventful. After Neville's suggestion, the seventh years grimly discussed their upcoming N.E.W.T.s while Ginny and Luna chatted away about their O.W.L marks. Next, the three Quidditch players planned out new strategies on the field while Luna explained to Hermione and Neville about her father's recent findings on the existence of the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. (Hermione seemed to be struggling with difficulty not to roll her eyes throughout the conversation.) Just as Harry was letting his teammates in on his version of the new and improved Wronski Feint, Hermione stood up and stretched her arms. 

"Well," she began sounding tired, "that is all very _fascinating_ (sarcasm) Luna and I would _love_ to hear the rest of it, (more sarcasm) but unfortunately Ron and I have to go for our patrol."  
Ron, who had been intently listening to Harry quickly dropped his head on Ginny's shoulder, (he had come over to sit with them for their Quidditch talk) closed his eyes and began faking loud snores. Harry and Ginny shot a glance at Hermione and giggled. Hermione placed her hands on her hips and tapped her feet impatiently on the ground. "Oh honestly Ron, open your eyes!" Ron, eyes still shut, shook his head violently. "RON!" she cried louder. Ron groaned and forced his eyes open.  
" 'Mione, we just went!" he protested as he raised his head lazily.  
"Ron, we didn't _just_ go, it was hours ago and we need to be by the front of the train later to lead the first years out anyways. Now come on!" she slid the door open and shot one last deadly look at him. Ron scowled but followed without another word.

Then moments later, Luna got up as well. "I think I'll go say hello to Lisa Turpin," she said. "Neville, do you wanna come with? You haven't met any of my classmates yet and it'll be nice if you did…" Neville looked up at her bewildered. "Oh, well um, sure…" he replied hesitantly. (Meeting new people wasn't his thing.) Luna waved her hand and said "See you later, " to Harry and Ginny. Neville half-shrugged at them and also waved. Harry called out "See you" smiling at the thought of Luna making friends with these girls who he was certain had called her Loony in the past. Then he turned his head to Ginny.

"Gin, did you want to go say hi to your friends too?" he asked.  
Ginny glanced at him then shook her head. "No, I like where I am," she answered shyly turning away from him.  
Harry smiled and continued to watch her face. Her eyes were now focused on her… _feet?_ He wasn't too sure. _Wow, she has really long eyelashes,_ he told himself. He then worked his way down to her nose and his smile widened. Harry had always liked her nose. He thought the freckles were just adorable. Mental note: _I'd have to count them next time…if she'll let me._ Then he felt his stomach tighten. _Her lips._ Here he was once again, staring intently at her soft, tender, watermelon glossed, red, juicy…_All right shh, brain, shh!_ the voice inside his head hissed as he rapidly turned away. _Remember the last time you looked at her like that she almost threw juice in your face!_  
But then again, he thought, that had been a while ago and things certainly had changed between them during the course of the day. His heart raced. Then suddenly it dawned on him that it was just the two of them in the compartment. He took a deep breath. It was now or never. Slowly, he reached for her left hand then grasping it tightly, pulled. She steadily slid toward him with a small "Woah" until every inch of the sides of their body was touching. Ginny stared at him questioningly clearly startled. He let go of her hand which gently fell onto his lap as his right arm slipped behind her back. "_I_ like you better here," he whispered.

Their faces were so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. She took in a short, quick breath as he gradually lowered his face until his mouth was pressed over hers very tenderly. She had waited for this moment for so long- pictured it in her head over and over and yet it was a hundred times more wonderful than she had imagined it to be. His lips were so soft and delicate, almost fluffy. It was like kissing a marshmallow. Suddenly she pictured a big white marshmallow atop Harry's body wearing glasses and this made her giggle against his lips. Harry backed away just enough to look down at her and he raised his eyebrows. He looked half amused and half…_hurt?_ Ginny couldn't tell.  
"Oh Harry I didn't mean-" she began, no longer laughing. She was already beginning to hate her self for ruining such a perfect moment. "It's just…you know," _you make me nervous,_ she had meant to say but before she could manage the words out Harry was kissing her again.

This kiss was nothing like the first. It was harder and certainly more passionate than any other kiss she had previously experienced, which wasn't many. Harry's right hand had traveled up to her shoulder, which he gripped strongly, while his left hand came around and landed on a spot on her right leg just above her knee. Before she could fully take in what was happening, Harry had slightly parted his lips and began smoothly stroking her lower lip with his tongue. A shiver ran down her spine. Soon enough, her own tongue was caressing his and she managed to wrap both arms around his neck, running her fingers affectionately through his hair. She would never have guessed his ruffled hair would feel so- _nice._ Yes, this was all very nice indeed. The kiss seemed to last for hours until finally she broke away from him, though it pained her immensely to do so. Well, maybe the pain had more to do with the lack of oxygen in her lungs.   
"Harry, you-" she gasped attempting to catch her breath.  
She wanted to tell him just how wonderful the kiss had been, how wonderful _he_ has always been, the way she felt about him, the way he made _her_ feel about herself. There were so many words and emotions building inside her she felt she was going to explode. "You-" she breathed.  
Harry lifted his left hand off her leg and with it gently stroked the side of her face. "-are an exceptional kisser?" Harry asked hopefully. Ginny stopped and blinked. "Um, no…" she said slowly. Then- "Oh, I mean yes!" she giggled. "Yes Harry you are, of course. I meant that wasn't what I was planning to say," she grinned.  
Harry smiled back. "Yeah I know. Sorry. I guess I'm just really happy," he said. "Ever since we kissed in my dream, I guess I wanted to share a real one with you pretty bad." Ginny slowly nodded her head then froze. She stared at Harry who, not realizing what he had just confessed, continued to beam happily at her. "We _kissed_ in your dream?" she asked dazedly.

Harry's smile slowly vanished and he felt his entire face flush. "Er… oh, well… hmph," he cleared his throat. "We sorta did, yeah. I mean I woke up before anything really happened," he stammered.  
Ginny, who felt like Christmas had come early this year, did her very best to maintain her cool. "What was I wearing?" she asked curiously.  
"Wearing? Oh… er hmm…Oh, right. You were wearing a green apron over a black top. Oh, and denim shorts," Harry tried to pretend he didn't remember the details _too_ well.  
"Oh, I see so I _was_ dressed," Ginny said with a rather devilish smirk.  
Harry felt his face turn redder, if that was even possible. "O-of course you were dressed!" he protested, though now he was laughing along with Ginny. "It wasn't _that_ kind of dream. It was a nice dream. A really, _really_ nice dream. No nudity. Oh well unless you count little James in nothing but his diapers…"

"Little _who?_" Ginny's eyes widened. "James, our son," Harry replied then hastily added, "you must think I'm a loon for having dreams about us being married with kids and stuff…" He stole a nervous glance at her then quickly looked away to study his fingernails. For a long while, Ginny didn't respond. Harry desperately wished she would, the silence was becoming insufferable.   
After what felt like forever, Ginny finally spoke.  
"Harry?" Harry's head shot up in the air toward her, greatly relieved to hear her voice. "Y-yeah, Ginny?" he asked. She was still smiling at him but it seemed different from before. This expression showed no hint of amusement only sincere adoration and pure fondness. It was truly angelic. "I-I hope it comes true…your dream," she said softly.

Harry looked back at the alluring redhead beside him and suddenly heard the voice of little James again calling him "Daddy!" as beautiful Ginny walked out of their cozy kitchen with their delicious, homemade dinner. An overwhelming sensation of warmth and happiness filled up his chest. He nodded slowly at his future wife and said determinedly "It will Ginny…I promise."

THE END

A/N: _Or is it? Ok, so maybe I will continue from where this leaves off in a new story…or I may just start a whole new one. I haven't decided yet. P In the meantime all the readers who read my story (esp. the ones who left me kind reviews), I hope you enjoyed it and …thank you!_


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